Paper cuts not in campus green plan

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By Pete Jones

From syllabi to schedule books, paper is used in large quantities every day on campus, but going paperless is not in the university’s plans for sustainability.
UK has not established a campus-wide initiative to decrease paper use at this time, said UK spokeswoman Gail Hairston.
According to a report from the UK Purchasing Department, the university spent $1 million on paper during its last fiscal year.
The report included all paper purchases made with university funds, including the UK Chandler and UK Good Samaritan hospitals.

The biggest use of paper was in the Information Management Department in the UK Hospital, which spent $41,451 this last fiscal year. The College of Pharmacy spent the most out of all the colleges on campus with $17,229. The Colleges of Education and Nursing followed with over $12,000 each.
UK currently does not limit paper use in individual departments, but some offices are taking their own initiatives to cut down on costs.
UK’s Student Billing Services stopped sending paper bills to students as of Feb. 1, 2008. Recently, the Registrar’s office published the schedule book exclusively online and plans to move the university bulletin from print to electronic. But this decision was made by the Registrar’s office without a push from the university, said Bruce Manley, associate registrar.
“We made the decision to go paperless internally,” Manley said. “It was not something that has been mandated from higher authorities.”
The idea to eliminate paper schedule books has already shown it will be beneficial, Manley said.
“Between not printing schedule books and undergraduate bulletins, we will save the university $80,000 per year,” he said.
The 20 departments that spent the most on paper accounted for nearly 30 percent of UK’s paper expenses. After moving to paperless billing, the student billing services department consumed $1,545 in paper, and the purchasing division, which sent the 256 page budget report electronically, spent $3,548 on paper. The Library Administration spent $9,475.
Some students think there are more opportunities to reduce paper use on campus. A.J. Schreiver, a kinesiology junior, said paper could be saved by not printing as many fliers to be distributed around campus. Schreiver said publicizing by email or Facebook is an effective way that would save paper.
“I always see a ton of fliers around that people never stop to read,” he said. “I’ve never participated in anything I’ve seen on a flier.”
Professors could also help with paper costs, said Amanda Zimny, a secondary education senior.
“When we actually need handouts in class, professors should print them on both sides of the page to save paper,” Zimny said.
Many professors require papers be double spaced and of a certain length, Zimny said, but if students did not have to double space assignments the university might save on paper costs.
Hairston said the university is taking steps to conserve, and many departments are choosing eco-friendly paper from the Wending Printing Company.
“We are looking at community involvement, controlling resources here on campus through facilities management, supporting research in sustainability efforts and teaching students,” Hairston said.